“It is easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism.” \u2013Mark Fisher<\/p>\n
I would self-identify as a treehugger, which in one sense means an environmentalist, but it also refers to the way managers used to derogatorily speak about those who favor corporate retreats where workers \u201crecharge\u201d and perform \u201cteam-building\u201d activities such as hugging trees together. I led retreats at the Esalen Institute for 10 years, so I\u2019m extremely familiar with a wide array of uplifting exercises to help rejuvenate people\u2019s spirits.<\/p>\n
Earlier today I heard a patient identify himself as a jobhugger. His job is unsatisfying, and he\u2019s burnt out; however, for those like him in the PMC (the professional managerial class), given our turbulent economy with the possibility of AI replacement looming, he knows it might be difficult to find a similarly paying job elsewhere. So he\u2019s jobhugging.<\/p>\n
Golden Handcuffs vs. Bronze Handcuffs<\/p>\n
At the University of Pennsylvania in 1988, my sociology professor E. Digby Baltzell once said in class that workers ride an escalator up until they find their level of mediocrity and then usually become somewhat complacent. A certain level of financial success can reduce the drive of some people. Now that we\u2019re 60 years old, some of my Penn colleagues report having golden handcuffs\u2014a high monthly nut including mortgages and kids at private schools\u2014that makes it impossible for them to retire early; however, at this juncture in the history of capitalism, it appears that many young people, including my aforementioned patient, now suffer from having bronze handcuffs.<\/p>\n
What used to be called “quiet quitting” now looks more like a d\u00e9tente between the C-suite and the PMCs, everyone holding onto steady paychecks until the artificial intelligence<\/a> (AI) chips fall where they may. So jobhugging is the current workplace trend in which people cling to their current roles out of fear<\/a> rather than career<\/a> satisfaction. Instead of trying to job hop for better pay, employees prioritize the security of a steady paycheck over the risk of finding a new job in a slower, less predictable market.<\/p>\n The Psychological Toll of Jobhugging and Modern Work<\/p>\n Psychologically, jobhugging feels somewhat vengeful to me, but it’s also in line with what Karl Marx prophesied as the alienation and disenfranchisement of laborers. And let’s be honest: PMCs are mostly sitting in front of computers staring at numbers, words, and charts and taking Zoom meetings for eight to 12 hours a day. It sounds better than working the floor at a Foxconn factory, but no matter how much one is paid, spending 80 percent of your waking hours in front of screens has to be soul-crushing.<\/p>\n Jobhugging is like going on strike without holding a sign in front of a picket line. Showing up for the bare minimum hours, putting in the bare minimum effort, and still collecting the paycheck and the benefits.<\/p>\n